


I Could Take You Down

by rosebud1000



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A bit of Adrien sugar, Alya Backstory, Alya Césaire Finds Out, Alya sugar, Badass Alya Césaire, Gen, Like very minor, Lila salt, Lila takedown, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Minor Class Salt, Pansexual Alya Césaire, Post-Episode: s03 Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous Part 2), Referenced Bullying, background Alya/Nino, more likely than you think, past homophobia, rena rouge?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:08:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 4,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28566714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosebud1000/pseuds/rosebud1000
Summary: Alya just wanted to be a better friend to Marinette, who seems to be struggling but won't talk about it. So how did she end up planning a take-down?
Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 53
Kudos: 275





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Who's ready for lila salt, alya sugar, alya's backstory and giving marinette All The Hugs?

“Marinette, wait up!” Alya caught up to her friend, lunch in hand.

“What is it?”

“Can I eat lunch with you today?”

Marinette glanced at her purse, then back up.

“It’s just, I know we haven’t been cause of the Lila situation, but I like hanging out with you, and I don’t always have to eat with her.”

“Yeah, that’s… that’s okay.”

Honestly, it hadn’t escaped Alya that Marinette was acting strange. If her classmates’ claims were to be believed, it’d only been this year that she’d become so busy— and nobody could figure out why. When she’d started the rivalry with Lila, Alya had thought it’d eventually fade. Part of her had a nagging feeling that Marinette was right, but Lila was so enchanting. It was hard to remember to think when she was talking, and by the time she was done, Alya couldn’t remember what she’d said.

But it was these past few weeks that were worrying Alya the most: she’d pulled away more than usual, almost impossible to hang out with after school. She ran off to the bakery every day during lunch, nodded off in class, and was startled by the smallest of noises.

“So, how’s the Ladyblog?”

“It’s okay. Blown up a bit since Miracle Queen, but I didn’t get footage, and don’t really want to post theories. Not just because some of them are too far-fetched, but it all feels so private to the heroes. Like, something big happened.”

“Hm.” Marinette pulled open the bakery door and sat down at a table.

Alya put her lunch on the table, leftovers from a catering event that weekend. No one with a chef mom would choose school lunch. “How are you? You seem busy.”

“I am, I guess.”

“Any cool commissions?”

“No, not right now.”

“I heard Jagged’s going to tour Australia this summer. Maybe you’ll get to do some posters for that.”

“Maybe.”

When they’d first met, everything had clicked immediately. They were loud enough for each other, Alya was able to help her stand up for herself, Marinette taught Alya how somethings need to be let go. Sitting in awkward silence, both picking at their lunch, stung a little. Alya knew that part of it was Marinette pulling away, but couldn’t help feeling at fault.

Since when had she lost Marinette’s trust with full-sentence answers? There was no good way to navigate the Lila ordeal, not when they wanted nothing to do with the other, and all their classmates had chosen Lila.

“Hey, maybe you could text me and try to find a time to hang out this weekend.”

“I can try.”

“And eat lunch together again next Thursday, at least.”

Marinette shrugged.

“Whatever happens, I’m still your friend. Okay?”

She didn’t respond.

“Okay?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, we better get back to school.”

“Yeah.” Alya shoved her empty tupperware into her bag. “We better.”


	2. Chapter 2

Friday morning, Alya waited for Marinette at the front of the school. As they both sat down, she slid something across the desk.

Marinette picked up the pack of gum.

“Watermelon’s your favorite, right?”

“Yeah.” She slipped it into her pocket with a smile.

 _Success._ Alya wrote a note in her journal, confirming the already carefully listed _Marinette’s Favorites_ column. Alya had been nothing but determined to have friends when she switched schools, and it was paying off.

“Um, excuse me?”

Alya looked up to see Lila looming over her. Marinette had sunk down in her chair.

“You didn’t even say good morning to me.”

Alya hadn’t seen Lila at all that morning, she’d already been inside when Marinette got to school. After several seconds of her stunned silence, Lila crossed her arms.

“I knew it! First lunch yesterday, now ignoring me! You hate me, don’t you?”

“Well, I—” Alya sputtered.

“You must think I’m a monster! And I don’t even know why!”

“I don’t! I just sat with Marinette!”

“Really? Because I _know_ she hates me,” Lila said as tears threatened to spill. “Do you two have a _We Hate Lila Club_ or something?”

“I’m pretty sure that goes against school policy.”

“Well, it’d been unofficial.”

With Lila staring her down, Alya would have to act fast. “I don’t hate you, okay? I’ll— I’ll eat with you at lunch today.”

“You will?” How come it was only when the over-sugared voice was used against her that she noticed it?

“I will.”

Marinette didn’t say anything to her the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, I know this is starting slow. but i like short chapters


	3. Chapter 3

Somehow, Alya got stuck babysitting all weekend. She didn’t really mind, since it didn’t happen often and her parents paid her, but spending so much time with the twins was exhausting. It meant canceling plans with the rest of the class (minus Marinette), which sucked. At least she was able to facetime Nino and Marinette during naptime.

Marinette was still stubbornly avoiding talking about her feelings, but she was smiling more during their talks.

“I’ve been getting caught up on so many missing assignments,” she said, rifling through a stack of notebooks. “Do you understand any of this calorie stuff?”

“It’s not too bad, just a bunch of functions.”

She groaned. “I still have a ton of geometry to do.”

“ _That_ is killer. It took me three days to learn all the circle vocabulary, and I’m still not sure what a tangent line is.”

“Wish me luck.”

Alya flicked her Ladybug charm in front of the camera. “The best of luck, my friend.”

“How are the twins?”

“Asleep until my dad gets home, I hope. We had a fun day. Turns out you can only play Rat-a-Tat-Cat so many times before your brain starts rotting out your ears.”

“They turned you into a mummy?”

“Pretty much. More successful than The Pharoh.”

“Hm, that’s a low bar.” Marinette fidgeted with something, then looked up. “Ah, my phone’s about to die. Talk to you later?”

“See you Monday.”

Marinette hung up the call. Alya stared at her dark screen. How was she going to get her friend to feel better?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all... things are getting exciting in the next few chapters


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good day, everyone. This is your reminder to please, keep arms and legs inside the car at all times. This ride contains twists and turns, occasional swearing and implied depression, and past/referenced homophobia so continue at your own risk. Buckle your seat belts, be sure you hear the snap, and we’ll be off shortly.

Monday proved to be a challenge. When Alya entered the classroom, everyone was gathered around her desk, waiting.

“What?” she asked, not even bothering to try and push through.

“You completely blew us off,” Lila said.

“I texted and said I was stuck babysitting. Leo got sick and canceled.”

“But we were counting on you for that discount.”

“What discount?”

“The one at the Ladybug store, since you’re the Ladyblogger.”

Alya narrowed her eyes. “Lila, didn’t you say  _ you _ were getting the discount?”

“No, I told you that Janice, the owner, told me that she would give you a discount.”

“Whatever.” Alya shoved her way to her desk. “I already have all the merch I want.”

“You still let us down.”

“I’m sorry, but I warned you.”

Lila harrumphed and marched back to her next, thankfully leaving before Marinette arrived. She knew that if Marinette thought she was hurting Alya, she’d back off immediately and put her back at square one.

And while her original goal was being friends with both girls, she was starting to doubt Lila. It was one thing for her to not like Marinette. It was another for her to demand that everyone else dislike her as well.


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay everyone, settle down,” Mme Bustier said. The talking died out, conversations carried over from lunch. “Unfortunately, the school Wi-Fi went down a half hour ago. We’re not sure why, but it doesn’t appear to be an akuma and we’ve got repairmen already working.”

“Big deal. I once went three months without Wi-Fi in Africa,” Lila added.

“That being said, Lila, Alya, can you take the attendance form down to the office for me?”

“Oh, of course we will.” Lila pranced down the room and grabbed the paper. “I just love doing everything on hard copies. So much easier to organize!”

“Of course you do,” Alya muttered as she stood up.

As soon as the classroom door shut behind them, Lila turned to her. “I’d hate for us to have to stop being friends, you know. But with all this drama with Marinette… I don’t want to subject myself to it.”

“I don’t see how my being friends with her affects you. It’s not like I’m forcing you to hang out.”

“I’d feel so much better, though, knowing you two weren’t trying to gang up on me.”

Alya pushed open the office door. She counted her breaths and tried not to do anything rash. Lila handed the attendance to the secretary.

“You’re going to have to choose a side eventually, Alya.”

She sped her walk. “Adrien is friends with you and Marinette, isn’t he?”

Lila grimaced. “That’s different. He wasn’t socialized properly, it’s not his fault. You, on the other hand…”

_Don’t say anything, don’t say anything, don’t say anything._

“I think you know better than to hang out with that brat.”

“What the _fuck,_ Lila?”

Lila, her hand on the classroom doorknob, froze. Alya stared at her. So much for not doing anything rash. Well. Not like she could get much worse.

“You insult my friends to my face, you try to make me look bad to the class, I’m beginning to think you’re not so perfect yourself.”

Alya slammed open the door. And was met with rows of her shocked classmate. Of course they could hear that through the door.

“Alya?” Mme Bustier said. “I’d like to talk with you after class.”


	6. Chapter 6

Alya took her time putting her books away at the end of class. She didn’t want to be lectured, even though she knew swearing at Lila hadn’t been a good idea. At least she’d managed to keep her head down through the lesson and avoid talking to anyone.

She waited until everyone had left before shuffling over to Mme Bustier’s desk.

“Alya,” she sighed. “I really thought you were a good kid. I know Lila can be frustrating, but please try to be civil.”

“I- I’m trying.”

“You’ve already got an expulsion on your record, you don’t need to add to that.”

She pulled her bag over her shoulder. “Yeah, alright.”

“And one more thing?” Mme Bustier asked when Alya was halfway out the door. “If you  _ are _ having problems with her, you should tell me. I can’t report anything until you do.”

That was the problem with Lila, though: there was nothing  _ to _ report. Not with her lying disease. And in order to count as bullying and get a reaction from the school, she’d need at least three undeniable instances. Alya had had plenty of experience with that policy.

“Hey, ready to go?” Marinette asked.

“Oh, you waited?”

“Yeah.” She grabbed Alya’s arm and started walking down the hall. “That was pretty great today, with Lila.”

“I know, right?”

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. And just like that, everything felt ridiculous. Lila and Marinette’s absurd rivalry, whatever had happened today, and Alya stopped caring. She didn’t think she’d made Marinette laugh in months, and her whole friendship with Lila was worth these two minutes any day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, the alya backstory kicked in


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette pushed open her trapdoor and shoved their backpacks through. Alya climbed up after her, overjoyed that she’d been invited over again. She’d spent the day at school awkwardly trying to maintain peace with Lila— even sitting with the girls at lunch when Rose invited her. Marinette had waved her off and gone to find Kim.

“Okay, I’ve finished all my overdue assignments for everything but geometry.”

“I can try to help you.”

She opened a textbook and dumped her pencil case out on the floor. “But that’s not counting anything from this week.”

“Marinette! How come we never hang out but you don’t have enough time for homework?”

She went still. “Um—”

“Nah, I get it. Procrastination’s a bitch.” Alya pulled out her history notebook. “Where do you want to start?”

Several hours, snacks, and failed geometry problems later, they declared themselves done. Not the homework, just them. Marinette pulled a fuzzy pillow off her bed and started tracing patterns in it.

“Have you started any designs this week?”

“Nothing good.” She hugged her pillow. “I, uh, heard Mme Bustier talking to you yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“Um, after school? I overheard your conversation. She said you’d been expelled.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, I just thought you might want to know.”

“It wasn’t anything— there were some really mean girls at my old school, and I kinda lost it on them, so…”

“Worse than with Lila?”

“ _ Way _ worse.”

Alya was glad that Marinette had told her. She’d been trying to keep her history private, not because she’d been expelled, but because people would want to know why. By now, she knew it was slightly irrational. Everyone in the class would be fine with it. But it’d only taken that one bad experience, and now she had her heart pounding at how close she’d been to telling Marinette. Which hadn’t even been that close. How could Marinette know the expulsion and her sexuality were in any way related?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look, it's a chapter!

“You believe me, right?” Alya asked. “There’s something not right with this Lila-Marinette situation. I mean, I’ve been— well, I think I can spot trouble when I see it.”

Nino shrugged. “Obviously, something’s up with Marinette. But to blame it all on Lila seems a little harsh.”

“She doesn’t even want _me_ to be friends with Marinette, though. Who gets that territorial over friends?”

“She doesn’t have a motive.”

“She doesn’t _need_ a motive.” Alya kicked a rock across the sidewalk.

“I guess not, but… I’m hardly even friends with Lila, she mostly talks to you girls. The only reason I haven’t been talking to Marinette as often is because you haven’t,” he said.

“I think we may need to do something about Lila.”

“Whatever you’re planning better not be illegal.”

“It won’t be… technically. What do you think we should do?”

“Get to class on time?”

“What?” Alya glanced down at her watch. “Oh, shit.”

She sped up, Nino right behind her. She hadn’t been planning to do something about Lila until she’d said it. And now she couldn’t think of anything else.


	9. Chapter 9

“Leave me alone.”

“Okay, what the hell?” Alya asked.

“Seriously.” Marinette brushed past her and into the bakery.

Alya stayed at her heel. “What are you talking about? I know I haven’t been the best friend, but-”

“You’re what? My  _ only _ friend? Lila’s proving it, I’m not worth being around, so forget it and stay out of my mess. I won’t be offended.”

“You’re clearly upset!” She followed Marinette through the bakery and up to the apartment. “You’re a great person to be around. I’m not going to leave that easily.”

“You did before.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know you are, Alya. I just don’t want you hurt by this.”

“So what? You’d sacrifice yourself for anyone? Refuse to tell anyone what’s actually going on? That’s no way to live.”

“I-” Marinette let her bag fall off her shoulder. “Damn it, this-” She sat on the first step to her bedroom and wrapped her arms around her legs.

Alya sat next to her, silent. She knew that staying with someone when they cried was often enough.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we have a tentative chapter count! and I've written the next four, so more frequent updates to come

“Um, we don’t want to waste our lunch hour,” Marinette said after a while. She wiped at her cheeks as she stood.

“It’s alright.” Alya grabbed their bags and started up the stairs. “And I’m sorry.”

“I told you already, I know.”

“No, about yelling at you. I don’t know what’s going on with you, and it’s making me more anxious than is warranted. But I kind of do, I mean, I think this is what I looked like to others when… well, anyway, I’m sorry.”

Marinette sat on her floor and pulled out one of her pigtails. “It’s okay, you didn’t make me cry. Everything else did.” She combed through her hair and retied it.

“You can tell me everything. I can keep a secret.” Alya sat down and pulled her lunch out of her bag.

Marinette smiled, and for the briefest moment, Alya could’ve sworn she’d seen that exact smile on someone else.

She took a breath. “At my last school-”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“Well, you already know I was expelled, and I should probably tell someone about what happened. I’m kinda surprised no one’s posted any ‘exposing the Ladyblogger’ stuff over it.”

“I won’t interrupt.”

_ It won’t matter, Marinette’s cool, this is fine. _ Alya sat on her hands to hide how much they were shaking. “So, I’m pan. Uh, pansexual. Anyway, I wasn’t well-liked there, and then some girls found out, cause I had a crush on this one girl, and they were really mean about it. It was… awful. I tried to tell teachers, but the bullies were always nice in front of adults. No one would do anything, and my parents wanted me to at least finish the school year, I don’t think they knew the full extent.

“A week before school ended, since I was determined to never come back, and the girls had had a field day with me the day before, I snuck into the school. Like, after hours, in the middle of the night. And I, um, spray painted the lockers.”

“Oh my god. You vandalized the school.”

“I was caught, so clearly not the best espionage.”

“What’d you write?”

“I actually refrained from profanities! I just wrote ‘love is love.’ Made sure to get the girls’ lockers.”

“Oh, wow, that’s great. I’m sorry you had to deal with all that suckiness, though.”

“It’s over now, isn’t it?” Alya bit into her apple. “All things have an end.”

“It’s hard to tell when that will be.” Marinette found a sudden interest in her rug and started poking at the shag.

“Maybe you should tell your parents.”

“Alya.”

“What? You haven’t designed in weeks, you’re self-isolating, it’s not good.” She paused to wrap her apple core in a napkin. “Have you even been sleeping well?”

“No,” Marinette admitted. “But I can’t tell them, then they’ll want to know why.”

“You don’t want to tell them about Lila?”

“Lila’s… not the only problem. And before you ask, I’m not telling you either.”

Getting people to talk about something bothering them was hard, Alya knew. But if she couldn’t convince Marinette to get  _ real _ help she could get the next best thing. “If you have insomnia, that’s not too hard to explain.”

Marinette raised her eyebrows.

“It’s a compromise. Tell your parents you’re stressed, get some over-the-counter sleep aids, and then at least one problem is solved. You’d be surprised how much getting good sleep can help with other stuff.”

“I don’t kn—”

“All it’d do is help you sleep better! Please? There’s not much I can do to help, and I’ve already been a shitty friend.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Thank you.” Alya leaned over to give Marinette a hug, then stood up. “C’mon, let’s get back to school.”


	11. Chapter 11

Alya knocked on the door, hopeful that Marinette hadn’t fallen back asleep. She’d texted this morning and gotten a response— which Alya took as a sign that Marinette had talked to her parents about sleep meds and was now waking at a more reasonable hour.

“I’m here, I’m here.” Marinette opened the door, muffled by the hair ties she held between her lips. “You can come in.”

Alya put her bag down as she waited for Marinette to finish putting her hair back. “Today is going to be awesome. I have so many plans.”

“Hey, I thought overplanning was  _ my _ thing.”

“It’s almost spring! We are going outside, and enjoying as many warm-weather things as we can find.”

“Sounds like fun.” Marinette grabbed her purse and opened a cabinet. She put a handful of cookies in her purse. “Let’s go.”

The day turned out to be a success. They bought crepes to eat in the park, where they found a sunny place to sit. Marinette was a little on edge, checking her phone every few minutes, but she still focused on what Alya was saying.

They got ice cream, too, not from Andre’s because neither of them wanted to hunt him down. Alya didn’t have a plan to deal with Lila yet, but that might not be necessary after all. Being friends with Marinette might be enough.

“Thanks for caring so much,” Marinette said, holding the last piece of her sugar cone. “Even if you don’t know everything, it helps.”

Alya wiped melted ice cream off her finger. “Please. This is just what friends do.”


	12. Chapter 12

“What in the world do you think you’re doing, Cesaire?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Alya said, finding herself pulled into an empty classroom.

Lila crossed her arms. “Gallivanting with Dupain-Cheng on a weekend?”

“You mean _hanging out with my friend_?”

“You know the two of us don’t get along. You have to pick a side. It’s a betrayal to me to be friends with her.”

Alya put her hand on the door. “I don’t care, Lila. You can’t control me.”

She was expecting Lila to try to stop her from leaving, but she just stood still, an eerie smile on her face.

“Maybe not. But I _can_ make sure you have no friends.”

Alya laughed. Sure, she hadn’t been hanging out with the other girls as much, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t texting them. “I highly doubt that.”

“And how do you think Marinette got to where she is? The lovable class president?” Lila had a hand hooked around the handle of Alya’s bag. “It’ll be a shame, too, when your blog starts losing followers. _The Ladyblog_. What a dull name.” She released her hold on the handle and shoved Alya out of the way of the door.

She could only stare as Lila left the room. _That monster._ Had she done this to Marinette, too? Any thoughts she’d had of not enacting revenge were gone. Lila had to be taken down.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone noticed the chapter count changing a few times... hi, I'm a calc 2 student and i can't count

“I’m telling you, we have to do something,” Alya said, tapping her foot

“So you finally figured out that Lila is lying, then?” Adrien asked from her phone’s screen.

“Well, I— Lying?”

“Yeah, all the celebrity friends and charity work?”

Nino, next to Alya on the edge of her bed, sighed. He wasn’t all too happy being dragged into Alya’s schemes.

“Wait, she’s lying?” Nino perked up. “What about when Marinette was expelled? That’s vicious.”

Alya frowned. “Those were lies? I was talking about her bullying Marinette, and if my interaction is anything to go by, threatening her.”

“C’mon, though. Friends with Ladybug? You really think Ladybug would be friends with such a— Did you say she threatened Marinette?”

“I think so.” Alya stood up, pacing as she recounted what had happened that afternoon. “She certainly threatened me.”

“I can’t believe that!” Adrien exclaimed. “Uh, could you set me down? The pacing is making me motion sick.”

Alya handed her phone to Nino.

“Thank you,” he said. “She shouldn’t be doing that! We made a deal, and she’s still threatening Marinette! At this point, I thought it was a domino effect, and that Lila wasn’t doing anything else, we were just seeing the full consequences of her actions. Damnit, okay, I’ll have to convince Natalie to cancel the photoshoot with her tomorrow.”

“You still have shoots with her?” Nino asked. “That’s gotta be torture.”

Alya was more interested in another detail. “You made a deal with Lila?”

“Sort of. It may be… somewhere between blackmail and bribery. I don’t exactly know the difference. The point is, it isn’t working.”

“So you agree, we have to do something.”

“Something  _ legal _ ,” Nino added.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“Not whatever. Don’t get yourself arrested.”

“Oh, I googled it,” Adrien said. “It’s bribery.”


	14. Chapter 14

It’d been two days since her discussion with Nino and Adrien, and Alya still didn’t have a plan. She did have a stack of papers from Nino outlining several French and Parisian laws, but that wasn’t helpful with taking down a liar. The easiest thing would be to contact Jagged Stone. Adrien, unfortunately, couldn’t get in contact with him, and asking Marinette for his email would be a dead giveaway.

Marinette wasn’t confrontational and would tell Alya not to do anything. So Alya simply wasn’t telling her about the plans. For now, she was sitting in Marinette’s room, waiting for her to come back up with snacks.

There was a piece of fabric covering the desk, which made Alya smile. It looked like Marinette was working on a sewing project again. The patterned side was down, and Alya turned up a corner to see what the fabric looked like. It was a deep blue, with white stars speckled on— 

There was a book on the desk, previously hidden by the fabric. Alya blinked at it. The familiar symbol stared back at her. The one she’d connected with the miraculous. It could mean nothing, if it wasn’t hand-drawn. If it didn’t have strange runes written underneath it, with French next to them:  _ Le Lit des Protecteurs _ .  _ The Guardian’s Book _ . If Marinette hadn’t stuck post-it notes along the edges, covered in messy notes. It could’ve been nothing. But it wasn’t.

“Ready to tackle congruent angles?”

Alya replaced the fabric. “Uh, yeah.”

Marinette put the plate of cookies between them and picked up her pencil. Black stud earrings—Ladybug’s miraculous—glinted on her ears. Alya reached for a cookie, surprised to see that two were already taken. Marinette hadn’t eaten any yet.

No wonder she was always so stressed. Alya fidgetted with her pencil. Perhaps she should tell Marinette she knew. But her mind was still reeling, she didn’t want to scare her friend. For now, she could keep the secret. 


End file.
